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Chinese Crested Dog

Description

A favourite of the Han Dynasty in ancient China, the Chinese Crested
Dog was used to guard treasures and even in some forms of hunting. This
dog is one of
those hairless breeds that have survived and is becoming increasingly
popular all over the world.

Temperament

This self-possessed breed is happy, intelligent and alert
and keeps itself very clean. Whilst they can be real extroverts in
familiar surroundings they can be apprehensive of strangers, rather aloof in manner
and may react to provocation.

Appearance

Height: 30cm (12in)

Weight: 4.5kg (10lb)

They are a small, active and graceful
dog; medium to fine boned, with a smooth hairless body, with hair on
their
feet, head and tail only; or can be covered with a soft veil of hair. The skin of the
hairless is very soft - like the finest suede - and the Powder Puff has
a double coat - a soft undercoat with a long silky outer coat of
slightly harder guard hairs.

Hairless Chinese Crested Dog

Grooming

This dogs skin should be treated like your own. Wipe the
skin with a damp soft cloth, then use a
good quality human moisturizer ensuring to avoid any Lanolin
content as some adverse reactions have been reported. Aloe Vera Gel is
recommended. Also as the Hairless can sun burn you need an SPF sun screen - but one of the baby
varieties that contain no aluminiumas they tend to lick. These
dog's eyes should be cleaned daily, and the hair kept tied away from
their eyes also. If it is cold they need to wear coats. The Powder Puff dog should be washed frequently enough to maintain
a long clean coat.

Life Expectancy

10-12 Years

Health Concerns

The Chinese Crested Dog is quite a robust
breed, with only a few genetic diseases such as alopecia,
missing teeth which are part of the Hairless gene.

Suitability

Chinese Crested Dogs have the attributes of sight hounds and
they can be very quick. A securely fenced yard is very important as
these dogs use their elongated feet to climb and can be quite
versatile escape artists. Both varieties are ideally indoor dogs, and in
cold weather the Hairless need protection with coats.

Toy Dogs: the common feature amongst these dogs is that they are
all small,
even if they come in a variety of different shapes.
A few in this group include the Chihuahua,
English
Toy Terrier
and Japanese Chin
to mention a few.